So my plan was to write about Homecoming, but then after checking what the other bloggers had chosen to write about this week I realized by Tuesday night how unoriginal my idea was! Instead, I will tell you about the progression of my experience writing for “The D,” our completely student-run college newspaper.

As a freshman, I was debating what activities I wanted to do at Dartmouth. Certain ones continued over from high school like playing lacrosse and doing community service for Relay for Life, but others were completely new to me, like writing for the newspaper. Sports had been a huge, if not the main, aspect of my life growing up, and I knew I wanted a way to fill that void in college since I would not be on a varsity team, let alone three, anymore. So when I was added to the sports team for The D I was thrilled!

Since it was my first time writing, they started off giving me the easy stories: recapping the results of a cross country meet or previewing a game to be played the following weekend. The standard grammar and style rules applied and three interview were a must. Slowly as my first year on the paper progressed, I became a “Staff Writer” and was able to write pieces about specific athletes and longer centerfold articles that delved into specific sports issues or teams. I even took a stab at editing my sophomore and junior years which was a great way to see how the process is completed from start to finish, but I decided I really preferred being on the writing side of things.

Now as a senior, my best friend, who wrote for the last few years also, and I have a weekly sports column. We are the first female and only duel columnists in a long time for the sports section. So far I have absolutely loved the experience of writing the column! We get to write about literally whatever it is we want that week as long as it pertains to sports in some way and have much more freedom with style and interviews. Some of our topics this fall have included sibling rivalries and dream duos in sports, attendance at Ivy League games, the changing nature and intent of sports’ fans, male vs. female preference in sports, and why so many Dartmouth seniors quit their sports and what options they have pursued since.

The headline for our weekly column, More Than A Game.

This all goes to show that at Dartmouth you can easily try something totally new as a first year student and that it is possible to build your way up and learn to love doing something you had never tried before!